Several Sixers Stand Out Among NBA's Greatest Nicknames
By Ray Boyd
PHILADELPHIA (CBS) -- A nickname for an athlete is a seriously strong symbol for their brand and their status on a team. A lot of us have nicknames, but it takes a special nickname to resonate with tons of people that don't even know you personally.
It takes a really special nickname to all but erase your real name from the minds of people all together.
Friday marks the birthday of the man with perhaps the greatest nickname in NBA history, Earvin "Magic" Johnson. To honor the date, Dime Magazine put out a list of the 20 best nicknames in the NBA since "Magic."
A couple of former and current Sixers even cracked the list.
Coming in at No. 19 on the list is new 76er, Nik "Sauce Castillo" Stauskas. "Sauce Castillo," was born because of a closed captioning error during a Sixers-Kings game during Stauskas' rookie season.
You have to love a nickname that sticks with a player, but has no real connection at all to that player. "Sauce Castillo," just has a nice ring to it and Sixers fans should be excited to say "cookin' with the sauce," every time he drains a three (at least I'll be doing that).
At No. 18 on the list was a Sixers nickname that left town all too soon. Nick "Swaggy P" Young cracked the Top 20 as another nickname with no real connection to the player in anyway.
The swag part of the nickname makes some sense. Young is one of the most swagged out players in the game, even when the attempt at cool fails miserably.
At least he has Iggy Azalea to console him. That's swag.
At No. 12 on the list is perhaps the most recognizable nickname to young Sixers fans, Allen "The Answer" Iverson.
Arguably the most beloved Sixer of all-time, Iverson was in every way the answer the Sixers needed when they drafted him in 1996. This nickname was certainly fitting.
A strong case could also be made for Iverson's other nickname, "A.I." Typically you can't expect much from initial nicknames, but the flow of "A.I." is something special and no other player in the league will ever be known as "A.I." ever again. It stands in similar fashion to "M.J."
At No. 2 on the list was Charles "The Round Mound of Rebound" Barkley. Here is another instance of a player with another strong nickname in "Sir Charles," (the nickname I would have given him the No. 2 spot for).
"The Round Mound of Rebound," is a perfect descriptive nickname for Barkley and it also rhymes. You have to love a nickname that rhymes.
The No. 1 nickname on the list went to Robert "Tractor" Traylor. The late Traylor was a member of the Sixers for three months before being traded away and never played in a game with the team.
The nickname deserves high recognition for how well it described Traylor's frame and the wordplay involved in tying "Tractor," to his last name.
The list did specify that it is the best nicknames since "Magic," but there are some serious omissions.
"Dr. J" was not included on the list. While Julius Erving was technically Dr. J before Johnson was in the league, the two eras merged and it is a serious omission to not find a way to include perhaps the best nickname of all time.
The list did include Johnson contemporaries like Larry "Legend" Bird as an honorary mention so where is The Doctor?
Also, no LeBron "King" James? Regardless of whether you're a fan or not, that's a better nickname than Bryant "Big Country" Reeves (which made the list).
Let's just say this list had it's share of "Swaggy P" like fails.
